| Lithuanian War of Independence | ||||||||
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| Combatants | ||||||||
 Lithuania German mercenaries |
 Russian SFSR Lithuanian-Byelorussian SSR |
 Poland
 White Movement |
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| Strength | ||||||||
| 8,000 Lithuanians in 1919 10,000 Germans |
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Freedom wars (also, War of Independence) refers to the three wars Lithuania fought defending its independence from opposing forces at the end of World War I. From 1795, Lithuania was part of the Russian Empire. During World War I it was occupied by German forces. On February 16, 1918 the Council of Lithuania declared independence. Germany supported this in hopes of creating a network of satellite countries, the Mitteleuropa. However, in November 1918 Germany lost the war and, with it, control over Lithuania. The first national government led by Augustinas Voldemaras was formed. However, in December Lithuania was invaded by the Bolsheviks. By the end of August the Bolsheviks were expelled from the country, but a new enemy from the north, the Bermontians, attacked in June. A decisive victory was obtained in November and by the end of the year they were also expelled from Lithuania.
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Forming the army
Lithuania did not have an army prior to 1918. The first law on organizing the army was passed on November 23, 1918. The process was very slow because of lack of funding, guns and ammunition, and experienced military commanders. Sensing a grave danger from the Bolsheviks, on December 20 Antanas Smetona and Augustinas Voldemaras went to Germany to ask for help. Six days later a proclamation to Lithuanian men by Mykolas Sleževičius was issued asking for volunteers for the army. At the very end of 1918, Germany gave the Lithuanian government a 100-million-mark credit. Gradual formation of the Lithuanian State and the Lithuanian army proceeded under the auspices of the German army. Lithuanian volunteers were promised free land. Germany sent a division of German volunteers, about 10,000 men, who were paid 5 marks per day plus 30 marks per month. German volunteers were mainly from Saxony. This is the reason the Freikorps in Lithuania were called "Saxon volunteers." On March 5, 1919 a mobilization was declared for men born 1897-1899. At the end of summer, the Lithuanian army had about 8,000 men. During the battles 1700 Lithuanian volunteers died, more than 2600 were injured, and 800 were Missing In Action.
War against the Bolsheviks
The Bolsheviks attacked Lithuania from the east trying to prevent independence and to spread the global proletarian revolution. These actions succeeded in some states, such as Georgia, Belarus and Ukraine, which were also briefly independent but then fell under Soviet rule soon after the civil war in Russia had ended. In Lithuania this effort was not successful. On December 8, 1918, a temporary revolutionary government in Vilnius was formed solely from Communist Party of Lithuania members. Vincas Mickevičius-Kapsukas became the chairman. The following day a workers' soviet was formed and declared its control over Vilnius. However, at the same time Voldemaras' government and Polish committee declared the same. The Germans left Vilnius on December 31, 1918. The Red Army advanced and on January 5, 1919 took Vilnius and advanced further to the west. On January 1, 1919 local Lithuanian communists in the town of Šiauliai rebelled and created 1000-men-strong "Samogitian platoon", thus when the Red army captured the town on January 15 a soviet power already existed there. German paid German volunteers led by Rüdiger von der Goltz arrived in Lithuania, took positions along the Hrodna-Kaišiadorys-Kaunas line, and stopped the Red Army. On February 27, 1919, the Freikorps defeated the "Samogitian platoon" in battle near Luokė. On March 7, 1919 the Freikorps liberated the town of Kuršėnai, on March 11 - Šiauliai, on March 12 - Radviliškis, on March 14 - Šeduva. The Freikorps was active in Lithuania until May 31, 1919. On February 10 the first battle between the newly formed Lithuanian army and the Bolsheviks took place near Kėdainiai. On February 27, 1919, the Lithuanian-Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (Litbel) was declared. In March the Lithuanian army under the leadership of general Silvestras Žukauskis started to push the Red Army back. On April 19, 1919, the Polish Army captured Vilnius, forcing the bolsheviks to withdraw the left wing of their army from territory south of the river Neris. In May Lithuanians together with the Freikorps captured Panevėžys and Ukmergė, in June - Utena. At the end of August, the Bolsheviks were defeated near Zarasai and the front stabilized. The Litbel ceased to exist. However, Vilnius, historic capital of Lithuania, remained under Polish control. On June 12, 1920, Lithuania signed a peace treaty with the Russian SFSR. Russia recognized Lithuania's independence and its right to the Vilnius region, though this treaty was not recognized neither by Poland nor by the Belarusian National Republic. Lithuania itself was not recognized internationally.
War against the Bermontians
The Bermontians were Russian troops who had been taken as POWs by Germany in World War I and were then released on their promise to fight against the Bolsheviks in the Russian civil war. Later many Freikorps members who were in Latvia and Lithuania after withdrawal of the Bolsheviks voluntary joined the Bermondtian forces. Led by Pavel Bermondt-Avalov, they received support, guns, and ammunition from Germany. At first they operated mostly in Latvia, but in June, 1919, they crossed the Lithuanian-Latvian border and took the town of Kuršėnai. The Baltic states were not internationally recognised, and were viewed as a part of Russia. Bermondt thought that the communists would be crushed in the Russian civil war and there would be no need to help fight them. Instead he thought he could annex the Baltic states, and, once the communists were destroyed, rejoin them to Russia, getting some high position or local ruler's title in exchange. By October, the Bermontians had taken considerable territories in western Lithuania (Samogitia) with the cities of Šiauliai, Biržai, Radviliškis. In Latvia, they took the capital, Riga. Once they annexed a town, the Bermontians banned the local languages and enforced the Russian language. They also robbed the local people, who started to form local partisan groups. In October 1919, Lithuanian forces attacked the Bermontians, achieving a major victory[dubious ] on November 21-22 near Radviliškis, a major railway center, though later clashes were stopped by Entente representative H.A. Niessel. The Lithuanians collected significant spoils of war, including 30 planes and 10 cannons. By December 15, the Bermontians were completely pushed from Lithuania. Latvia received help from Estonia, according to some explanations, in exchange for Latvia ceding the island of Ruhnu and its territorial waters to Estonia.
War against Poland
In June 1920 the Russian army took Vilnius. Shortly after their defeat in the Battle of Warsaw, the withdrawing Red Army handed the city over to Lithuania under terms of the peace treaty signed on June 12. Negotiations were started in an attempt to avoid an armed conflict between Poland and Lithuania. On October 7, a cease fire in Suwałki was signed. However, the very next day, before the agreement formally went into effect, a staged mutiny by Polish troops lead to an attack on the disputed area. The Vilnius and the Suvalki regions were overrun. Initially Polish forces did not meet much resistance, and later they were able to withstand a Lithuanian counter-offensive. Since the Vilnius region and the Suvalkai region were effectively controlled by Poland, the Lithuanian government declared Kaunas a temporary capital.
Armed conflict with Latvia
In the summer of 1919 the Lithuanian army, advancing against the Bolsheviks, crossed the Latvian border and reached the Daugava river, thus occuping the eastern part of the Augšzeme region. Promises were made to leave the area as soon the war with the Bolsheviks was ended. In January, 1920, the Latvian and Polish armies liberated Daugavpils and the Lithuanian army lost a direct front line against the Bolsheviks. Nevertheless, in the summer of 1920 the Lithuanian army was still in Latvia. On October 12, 1920 the Latvian army attacked Lithuanian positions.[dubious ]
See also
External links
References
- Lesčius, Vytautas (2004). Lietuvos kariuomenė nepriklausomybės kovose 1918-1920. Vilnius: Vilnius University, Generolo Jono Žemaičio Lietuvos karo akademija. ISBN 9955423234.
- Gimtoji istorija, Nuo 7 iki 12 klasės (Lietuvos istorijos vadovėlis), CD, 2002, ISBN 9986-9216-7-8
- Jonas Rudokas, Bermontianos žlugimas, Veidas, November 25, 2004, No. 48
- Z. Butkus, Kartu su Latvija ir Estija ar atskirai?, Atgimimas, December 12, 1988, No. 10 (10)
- V. Lesčius. Lietuvos kariuomenė nepriklausomybės karuose. Vilnius, 2004.
